Strain-induced antiferromagnetic to altermagnetic phase transition and topology in superlattice
Phys. Rev. B 113, 144418 – Published 10 April, 2026
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/kfhc-2hwv
Abstract
Topological aspects in altermagnets have come into focus recently, and tuning the antiferromagnetic state into an altermagnetic phase remains an active frontier. We realize both within a rutile superlattice here in this paper. With first-principles calculation, we show that a uniaxial strain of only along the axis converts the rutile superlattice from a trivial antiferromagnet into an altermagnet with topology accompanied by a weak spin-orbit coupling (SOC). The strain opens a spin-dependent band splitting of and, despite the weak SOC together with in-plane magnetic moment orientation, generates an intrinsic anomalous Hall conductivity of order , a comparable magnitude to that in ferromagnetic Weyl semimetals. Here, the Tiny SOC with an in-plane Néel orientation gaps out the Weyl nodal rings, giving rise to 16 Weyl points in the superlattice. Thus, we point out a simple route toward strain- and field-tunable, low-dissipation altermagnetic electronics.